Alexander Pope - Delphi Poets Series

by Alexander Pope

  And bound within the port their crowded fleet;

  For here retired the sinking billows sleep,

  And smiling calmness silver’d o’er the deep.

  I only in the bay refused to moor,

  And fix’d, without, my halsers to the shore. 110

  ‘From thence we climb’d a point, whose airy brow

  Commands the prospect of the plains below:

  No tracks of beasts, or signs of men, we found,

  But smoky volumes rolling from the ground.

  Two with our herald thither we command, 115

  With speed to learn what men possess’d the land.

  They went, and kept the wheel’s smooth beaten road

  Which to the city drew the mountain wood;

  When lo! they met, beside a crystal spring,

  The daughter of Antiphates the king; 120

  She to Artacia’s silver streams came down

  (Artacia’s streams alone supply the town);

  The damsel they approach, and ask’d what race

  The people were? who Monarch of the place?

  With joy the maid th’ unwary strangers heard, 125

  And show’d them where the royal dome appear’d.

  They went; but, as they ent’ring saw the Queen

  Of size enormous, and terrific mien

  (Not yielding to some bulky mountain’s height),

  A sudden horror struck their aching sight. 130

  Swift at her call her husband scour’d away

  To wreak his hunger on the destin’d prey;

  One for his food the raging glutton slew,

  But two rush’d out, and to the navy flew.

  ‘Balk’d of his prey, the yelling monster flies, 135

  And fills the city with his hideous cries:

  A ghastly band of giants hear the roar,

  And, pouring down the mountains, crowd the shore.

  Fragments they rend from off the craggy brow,

  And dash the ruins on the ships below: 140

  The crackling vessels burst; hoarse groans arise,

  And mingled horrors echo to the skies:

  The men, like fish, they stuck upon the flood,

  And cramm’d their filthy throats with human food.

  Whilst thus their fury rages at the bay, 145

  My sword our cables cut, I call’d to weigh;

  And charged my men, as they from Fate would fly,

  Each nerve to strain, each bending oar to ply.

  The sailors catch the word, their oars they seize,

  And sweep with equal strokes the smoky seas. 150

  Clear of the rocks th’ impatient vessel flies;

  Whilst in the port each wretch encumber’d dies.

  With earnest haste my frighted sailors press,

  While kindling transports glow’d at our success;

  But the sad fate that did our friends destroy, 155

  Cool’d every breast, and damp’d the rising joy.

  ‘Now dropp’d our anchors in the Ææan bay,

  Where Circe dwelt, the Daughter of the Day!

  Her mother Persè, of old Ocean’s strain,

  Thus from the Sun descended, and the Main 160

  (From the same lineage stern Æætes came,

  The far-famed brother of th’ enchantress dame):

  Goddess, and Queen, to whom the powers belong

  Of dreadful magic, and commanding song.

  Some God directing, to this peaceful bay 165

  Silent we came, and melancholy lay,

  Spent and o’erwatch’d. Two days and nights roll’d on,

  And now the third succeeding morning shone.

  I climb’d a cliff, with spear and sword in hand,

  Whose ridge o’erlook’d a shady length of land; 170

  To learn if aught of mortal works appear,

  Or cheerful voice of mortal strike the ear?

  From the high point I mark’d, in distant view,

  A stream of curling smoke ascending blue,

  And spiry tops, the tufted trees above, 175

  Of Circe’s palace bosom’d in the grove.

  ‘Thither to haste, the region to explore,

  Was first my thought: but, speeding back to shore,

  I deem’d it best to visit first my crew,

  And send out spies the dubious coast to view. 180

  As down the hill I solitary go,

  Some Power divine, who pities human woe,

  Sent a tall stag, descending from the wood,

  To cool his fervour in the crystal flood;

  Luxuriant on the wave-worn bank he lay, 185

  Stretch’d forth and panting in the sunny ray.

  I launch’d my spear, and with a sudden wound

  Transpierc’d his back, and fix’d him to the ground.

  He falls, and mourns his fate with human cries:

  Thro’ the wide wound the vital spirit flies. 190

  I drew, and casting on the river’s side

  The bloody spear, his gather’d feet I tied

  With twining osiers which the bank supplied.

  An ell in length the pliant wisp I weav’d,

  And the huge body on my shoulders heav’d: 195

  Then, leaning on my spear with both my hands,

  Upbore my load, and press’d the sinking sands

  With weighty steps, till at the ship I threw

  The welcome burden, and bespoke my crew:

  ‘“Cheer up, my friends! it is not yet our fate 200

  To glide with ghosts thro’ Pluto’s gloomy gate.

  Food in the desert land, behold! is giv’n;

  Live, and enjoy the providence of Heav’n.”

  ‘The joyful crew survey his mighty size,

  And on the future banquet feast their eyes, 205

  As huge in length extended lay the beast;

  Then wash their hands, and hasten to the feast.

  There, till the setting sun roll’d down the light,

  They sate indulging in the genial rite.

  When ev’ning rose, and darkness cover’d o’er 210

  The face of things, we slept along the shore.

  But when the rosy morning warm’d the east,

  My men I summon’d, and these words address’d:

  ‘“Foll’wers and Friends! attend what I propose,

  Ye sad companions of Ulysses’ woes! 215

  We know not here what land before us lies,

  Or to what quarter now we turn our eyes,

  Or where the sun shall set, or where shall rise.

  Here let us think (if thinking be not vain)

  If any counsel, any hope remain. 220

  Alas! from yonder promontory’s brow

  I view’d the coast, a region flat and low;

  An isle encircled with the boundless flood;

  A length of thickets, and entangled wood.

  Some smoke I saw amidst the forest rise, 225

  And all around it only seas and skies!”

  ‘With broken hearts my sad companions stood,

  Mindful of Cyclops and his human food,

  And horrid Læstrygons, the men of blood.

  Presaging tears apace began to rain: 230

  But tears in mortal miseries are vain.

  In equal parts I straight divide my band,

  And name a chief each party to command;

  I led the one, and of the other side

  Appointed brave Eurylochus the guide. 235

  Then in the brazen helm the lots we throw,

  And Fortune casts Eurylochus to go:

  He march’d with twice eleven in his train;

  Pensive they march, and pensive we remain.

  ‘The palace in a woody vale they found, 240

  High rais’d of stone; a shaded space around;

  Where mountain wolves and brindled lions roam

  (By magic tamed), familiar to the dome.

  With gentle blandishment our men they meet,

  An
d wag their tails, and fawning lick their feet. 245

  As from some feast a man returning late,

  His faithful dogs all meet him at the gate,

  Rejoicing round, some morsel to receive

  (Such as the good man ever used to give),

  Domestic thus the grisly beasts drew near; 250

  They gaze with wonder not unmix’d with fear.

  Now on the threshold of the dome they stood,

  And heard a voice resounding thro’ the wood:

  Placed at her loom within, the Goddess sung;

  The vaulted roofs and solid pavement rung. 255

  O’er the fair web the rising figures shine,

  Immortal labour! worthy hands divine.

  Polites to the rest the question mov’d

  (A gallant leader, and a man I lov’d):

  ‘“What voice celestial, chanting to the loom 260

  (Or Nymph, or Goddess), echoes from the room?

  Say, shall we seek access?” With that they call;

  And wide unfold the portals of the hall.

  ‘The Goddess, rising, asks her guests to stay,

  Who blindly follow where she leads the way. 265

  Eurylochus alone of all the band,

  Suspecting fraud, more prudently remain’d.

  On thrones around with downy cov’rings graced,

  With semblance fair, th’ unhappy men she placed.

  Milk newly press’d, the sacred flour of wheat, 270

  And honey fresh, and Pramnian wines the treat:

  But venom’d was the bread, and mix’d the bowl,

  With drugs of force to darken all the soul:

  Soon in the luscious feast themselves they lost,

  And drank oblivion of their native coast. 275

  Instant her circling wand the Goddess waves,

  To hogs transforms them, and the sty receives.

  No more was seen the human form divine;

  Head, face, and members, bristle into swine:

  Still curs’d with sense, their minds remain alone, 280

  And their own voice affrights them when they groan.

  Meanwhile the Goddess in disdain bestows

  The mast and acorn, brutal food! and strows

  The fruits and cornel, as their feast, around;

  Now prone and grov’ling on unsav’ry ground. 285

  ‘Eurylochus, with pensive steps and slow,

  Aghast returns; the messenger of woe,

  And bitter fate. To speak he made essay;

  In vain essay’d, nor would his tongue obey.

  His swelling heart denied the words their way: 290

  But speaking tears the want of words supply,

  And the full soul burst copious from his eye.

  Affrighted, anxious for our fellows’ fates,

  We press to hear what sadly he relates:

  ‘“We went, Ulysses (such was thy command), 295

  Thro’ the lone thicket and the desert land.

  A palace in a woody vale we found,

  Brown with dark forests, and with shades around.

  A voice celestial echoed thro’ the dome,

  Or Nymph or Goddess, chanting to the loom. 300

  Access we sought, nor was access denied:

  Radiant she came; the portals open’d wide:

  The Goddess mild invites the guests to stay:

  They blindly follow where she leads the way.

  I only wait behind of all the train: 305

  I waited long, and eyed the doors in vain:

  The rest are vanish’d, none repass’d the gate;

  And not a man appears to tell their fate.”

  ‘I heard, and instant o’er my shoulder flung

  The belt in which my weighty faulchion hung 310

  (A beamy blade): then seiz’d the bended bow,

  And bade him guide the way, resolv’d to go.

  He, prostrate falling, with both hands embraced

  My knees, and weeping thus his suit address’d:

  ‘“O King, belov’d of Jove, thy servant spare, 315

  And ah, thyself the rash attempt forbear!

  Never, alas! thou never shalt return,

  Or see the wretched, for whose loss we mourn.

  With what remains from certain ruin fly,

  And save the few not fated yet to die.” 320

  ‘I answer’d stern: “Inglorious then remain,

  Here feast and loiter, and desert thy train.

  Alone, unfriended, will I tempt my way;

  The laws of Fate compel, and I obey.”

  ‘This said, and scornful turning from the shore 325

  My haughty step, I stalk’d the valley o’er.

  Till now, approaching nigh the magic bower,

  Where dwelt th’ enchantress skill’d in herbs of power,

  A form divine forth issued from the wood

  (Immortal Hermes with the golden rod), 330

  In human semblance. On his bloomy face

  Youth smiled celestial, with each opening grace.

  He seiz’d my hand, and gracious thus began:

  ‘“Ah whither roam’st thou, much-enduring man?

  O blind to Fate! what led thy steps to rove 335

  The horrid mazes of this magic grove?

  Each friend you seek in yon enclosure lies,

  All lost their form, and habitants of sties.

  Think’st thou by wit to model their escape?

  Sooner shalt thou, a stranger to thy shape, 340

  Fall prone their equal: first thy danger know,

  Then take the antidote the Gods bestow.

  The plant I give thro’ all the direful bower

  Shall guard thee, and avert the evil hour.

  Now hear her wicked arts. Before thy eyes 345

  The bowl shall sparkle, and the banquet rise;

  Take this, nor from the faithless feast abstain,

  For temper’d drugs and poison shall be vain.

  Soon as she strikes her wand, and gives the word,

  Draw forth and brandish thy refulgent sword, 350

  And menace death: those menaces shall move

  Her alter’d mind to blandishment and love.

  Nor shun the blessing proffer’d to thy arms.

  Ascend her bed, and taste celestial charms:

  So shall thy tedious toils a respite find, 355

  And thy lost friends return to human-kind.

  But swear her first by those dread oaths that tie

  The powers below, the blessed in the sky;

  Lest to thee naked secret fraud be meant,

  Or magic bind thee cold and impotent.” 360

  ‘Thus while he spoke, the sov’reign plant he drew,

  Where on th’ all-bearing earth unmark’d it grew,

  And show’d its nature and its wondrous power:

  Black was the root, but milky white the flower;

  Moly the name, to mortals hard to find, 365

  But all is easy to th’ ethereal kind.

  This Hermes gave, then, gliding off the glade,

  Shot to Olympus from the woodland shade.

  While, full of thought, revolving fates to come,

  I speed my passage to th’ enchanted dome. 370

  Arrived, before the lofty gates I stay’d;

  The lofty gates the Goddess wide display’d:

  She leads before, and to the feast invites;

  I follow sadly to the magic rites.

  Radiant with starry studs, a silver seat 375

  Receiv’d my limbs: a footstool eas’d my feet.

  She mix’d the potion, fraudulent of soul;

  The poison mantled in the golden bowl.

  I took, and quaff’d it, confident in Heav’n:

  Then waved the wand, and then the word was giv’n. 380

  “Hence to thy fellows!” (dreadful she began)

  “Go, be a beast!” — I heard, and yet was man.

  ‘Then sudden whirling, like a waving flame,


  My beamy faulchion, I assault the dame.

  Struck with unusual fear, she trembling cries, 385

  She faints, she falls; she lifts her weeping eyes.

  ‘“What art thou? say! from whence, from whom you came?

  O more than human! tell thy race, thy name.

  Amazing strength, these poisons to sustain!

  Not mortal thou, nor mortal is thy brain. 390

  Or art thou he, the man to come (foretold

  By Hermes, powerful with the wand of gold),

  The man from Troy, who wander’d ocean round;

  The man for wisdom’s various arts renown’d,

  Ulysses? Oh! thy threat’ning fury cease, 395

  Sheathe thy bright sword, and join our hands in peace!

  Let mutual joys our mutual trust combine,

  And love, and love-born confidence be thine.”

  ‘“And how, dread Circe!” (furious I rejoin)

  “Can love, and love-born confidence, be mine, 400

  Beneath thy charms when my companions groan,

  Transform’d to beasts, with accents not their own?

  O thou of fraudful heart, shall I be led

  To share thy feast-rites, or ascend thy bed;

  That, all unarm’d, thy vengeance may have vent, 405

  And magic bind me cold and impotent?

  Celestial as thou art, yet stand denied;

  Or swear that oath by which the Gods are tied,

  Swear, in thy soul no latent frauds remain,

  Swear by the vow which never can be vain.” 410

  ‘The Goddess swore: then seiz’d my hand and led

  To the sweet transports of the genial bed.

  Ministrant to the Queen, with busy care

  Four faithful handmaids the soft rites prepare;

  Nymphs sprung from fountains, or from shady woods, 415

  Or the fair offspring of the sacred floods.

  One o’er the couches painted carpets threw,

  Whose purple lustre glow’d against the view:

  White linen lay beneath. Another placed

  The silver stands, with golden flaskets graced: 420

  With dulcet bev’rage this the beaker crown’d

  Fair in the midst, with gilded cups around;

  That in the tripod o’er the kindled pile

  The water pours; the bubbling waters boil;

  An ample vase receives the smoking wave; 425

  And, in the bath prepared, my limbs I lave:

  Reviving sweets repair the mind’s decay,

  And take the painful sense of toil away.

  A vest and tunic o’er me next she threw,

  Fresh from the bath, and dropping balmy dew; 430

  Then led and placed me on the sov’reign seat,

  With carpets spread; a footstool at my feet.

  The golden ewer a nymph obsequious brings,